Chapter 23 Devon
Devon
She’s holding her little dog close as if it can save her from the world. Whilst I like all sides of Sofia, seeing this vulnerable, fearful side of her has got all my feathers ruffled. Tearing the world apart and putting it back together in a way that doesn’t scare her doesn’t seem crazy at all.
Her cheeks are flushed, and she’s avoiding eye contact. I swing her around and lift her off her feet. She squeals.
“Devon, what are you doing? Let me down!”
“Not a chance. You’re all up in your head, and I’m not going to let you disappear.”
“Maybe I need to be.”
“Or maybe you need a distraction.”
“And what’s a good distraction?” she snaps, frustrated.
“Me.”
“You?”
I turn onto Main Street and stop, setting her down. “Look at our world, Sofia.”
Soft light from the streetlights shines down onto the road and footpath. The moon is huge in the sky, and the ocean is an inky black roar in the background.
“It’s a spring tide tonight. The beach is gone.”
She inhales and starts moving like I knew she would.
She’s as compelled by the ocean as we are about her.
We walk past the empty café, the pub, which is closed, and out to the railing.
An hour passes with us standing in silence.
I don’t know what she’s wrestling with, but Elijah returns from packing up the restaurant and looks at me as if I have the answers.
The water laps several feet below us. Even touching the stairs at times. It’s come in even further since we’ve been here.
“I have to tell you something,” Sofia says softly.
I shift until my arm is brushing against hers. “We know.”
“You know?” she asks in an almost shriek.
“Well, I mean, it's kind of obvious.”
“It is?”
I nod solemnly. “It’s all right. We’ll stick to the plan.”
She blinks, but now her expression gets guarded. “What plan?”
“Your heat. You’re going into preheat. We can smell it.”
Her face blanks. “No, I-” she snaps her mouth shut, then narrows her eyes, squinting at me. “You can smell it?”
I realise I’ve said something really wrong and take a step back. “Uh, well, just your scent is stronger, and you’re more emotional and-”
She growls under her breath, which is echoed by the pup in her arms.
“More emotional?” she asks.
I glance at Mack and Elijah for help, but they look terrified.
“Upset, stressed, a little bit more teary.”
“And you’d know from all the time you spent with me in the last few years?”
“Rebel, that’s not what I meant. We’re just trying to help.”
She swipes at her face, looks back out at the ocean, and sets the agitated pup on the ground. “What is this heat going to cost me?”
It takes far too long for that sentence to make sense.
“What do you mean?” I splutter. “Why would your heat cost you anything?”
“Will you have some possessive claim to me? Will I owe you money? What happens at the end, on the other side, when you realise I’m not the one you want?”
My confusion fades, and I make a promise that if I ever meet the pack that hurt her like this, I will make them suffer.
“It’s going to cost you,” I purr, stalking towards her, holding a hand up sharply to cut off Elijah’s protest. “It will cost you dearly.”
“What?” she says and steps back away from me. “Money?”
“I don’t want money. We have enough.”
“You want to claim me?”
I shake my head. “I will not claim you until you claim me. It will always be your decision, Rebel.”
“Well, then, what?” she hisses. “What do you want from me?”
Danger barks at us, jumping up at her. His hackles raised as he looks for what is upsetting his beloved mum.
I close the space between us and hand Danger to Mack. “You are going to give us your tolerance.”
“Tolerance?”
“Yes, at the end of your heat, you’re going to tolerate our need to pamper you, to make sure you have eaten enough, are hydrated. We’re going to check on you and want to touch and kiss you, hold you. Make sure you’re warm and not hurting.”
Her eyes get wider and wider. She stumbles back another step, but I don’t let her escape me.
“Devon-”
“You’re going to listen to us purr, and you are going to let us take care of you. That is the only cost to you. We will not demand anything else.”
“Nothing?”
“Nothing. Oh, and Sofia?”
She flinches slightly when I use her name. “Yes?” she says warily.
“We’re not going to come out on the other side of any day and ever think that you aren’t anything but the omega we want to court and be bonded with.”
She staggers back. “What?”
“Did we not make this clear?” I ask with a tiny smile, watching as she finally sees what we’ve been trying to tell her.
“But-”
She looks at Elijah and Mack, who stare back at her, reaffirming my statements.
“But you can’t-”
She gasps, clutching her stomach, hissing at the pain. I wrap my arms around her and let out a tender purr. She collapses against me, nuzzling my chest. Her scent so strong I feel drugged.
“Not fair, you’re cheating,” she murmurs.
“Funnily enough, if it makes you feel better, I don’t care how low I have to go.”
She tilts her head back, her hair twists in the wind and, to me, she’s never looked more beautiful.
“Your heat’s starting.”
“Soon,” she confirms.
“Do you want to go and look at your nest?”
She gulps and nods quickly. “But what about Danger?”
“I’ll run Danger over to Asher and Felix,” Elijah says.
“Yeah, I’ll go with him; we’ve got this.”
I give them a grateful look, though I know they can feel it through our bonds.
Sofia crouches down and, to my utter distress, starts to cry as she kisses the dog and says goodbye.
Danger whines but then happily trots off with Mack and Elijah.
She bursts into loud sobs, and I pull her into my arms, chuckling.
“You really love that dog, don’t you?”
“He’s my best friend,” she wails.
“He’s going to be fine. They will treat him like a king.”
“What if he doesn’t love me anymore?”
I throw my head back and laugh. “No one is ever going to stop loving you, Rebel. Come on, walk with me.”
I take her hand, trying not to notice how tiny it is in mine. The walk to the lighthouse takes twenty minutes. We don’t really talk. I think she’s nervous. I’m nervous.
This is Sofia. I’ve dreamed of this moment for years.
I open the front door, and she spins, walking backwards, her hair windswept, that gorgeous pink dress taunting me. She’s wearing these sandals that have glittering beads on them, just a hint of colour that accents the long, very long length of those tanned legs.
Her brown eyes look dark and mysterious, with not a flicker of green in them right now.
“Devon?”
“Yeah?”
She reaches back behind her. I hear a zip undo. Blood surges to my cock, and I lurch forward two steps.
We collide in a tangle of limbs. My tongue duels with hers. It’s been forever coming, inevitable. She’s so soft against me, and when I grab her ass and pull her up, she arches her back, trying to get closer.
I feel along her back and unclip her bra, breaking away only to toss the offending material to the floor. I yank off my singlet and kick off my pants.
She breaks out of the kiss and looks down my body and back up, her cheeks staining red, but her eyes getting hungry. Her tongue pokes out and runs along her bottom lip.
“Rebel,” I warn.
Her eyes jump up to mine but drop again to my cock. I reach down and grip it in one hand and stroke it slowly twice. I groan, but I’m much more focused on her.
I reach out and grab the tiny scrap of material that covers her pussy. With one quick yank, I rip it free from her body and bring it to my nose, inhaling the delicious scent of her.
“These must have been uncomfortable to wear.”
“Why?” she breathes.
“Because they are soaked.”
Her eyes widen as I rub them over my face before I toss them aside and grab her hips, turning us both and walking her backwards.
She stops, shoving a hand at my chest and walking into me. I give ground, curious as to where this is going. She kisses my chest, scraping her hot mouth over my nipple while her other hand trails down over my abs and covers my hand over my cock. I think I’m going to die happy.
I hit the wall.
“Rebel,” I warn again.
With wet lips and tousled hair, she looks up at me and then drops to her knees.
Oh, god. I have had dreams of this. So many dreams.
Her other hand slides up through the hairs on my thigh before she cups my balls.
I suck in a breath and slam the back of my head against the wall. “Feels so good, baby.”
“I know. Take your hand away, Devon. Let me do this.”
I let go of my cock, and she takes possession of it, her tiny hands stroking up and down. My head tilts back as I struggle against how good it feels. I try not to, but I rock into her slow movements. I look down at her, all red hair, massive eyes, and pink lips. She looks like a wet dream.
“I should make you beg.”
“I’ll do it,” I say instantly. “If you want me to beg you, I’ll do it.”
“To have my mouth-”
“To have any part of you on me, to stay with me, to be with me. To allow me to breathe in the same world as you. I will beg you, Omega. Please let me be yours, let me touch you.”
“Devon,” she whispers.
“Sofia,” I say her name slowly, drawing it out. My cock is rock hard in her hands, my whole body wired, but I won’t do anything; I won’t break faith with her. Whatever she needs, I will give her.
She leans forward and licks the tip of my cock. A swipe that is like lightning.
I hiss, my thighs trembling. My fingers drive through her hair, knotting in it before I force them to relax and stroke her scalp.
She licks around the rim and up the underside. Nerves light up. I let out a guttural groan, locking my legs so I don’t move. The hand cupping my balls rolls them before she suddenly and without warning engulfs the tip of my dick. She hollows out her cheeks and drags me to bliss.
“Rebel,” I gasp out. “I’m trying to be a good alpha here.”
She laughs around my cock, doesn’t even bother pulling it out of her mouth, just laughs, the heat and vibrations send my vision white.
She tortures me. Every time I get close, she stops moving or draws back, waiting until I’m panting but in control again.
I’m shaking by the time she’s done it three times. I can’t stop the tiny thrusts, and the way she grabs my ass, dragging my hips to her and burying my cock in her throat, has my brain rewriting happiness.
She pulls off my cock with a pop and stands up. I don’t think; I grab her thighs, lifting her and turning us so she’s pressed against the wall.
“Omega,” I say. “Your heat-”
“Not started properly yet, and I want you now, so make me yours, Alpha.”
I snarl and reach between us, gripping my cock. I rub my head through her pussy and listen as she mewls. When the tip of my cock catches her entrance and slips in, we both freeze.
“Are you sure-”
“Shut up, Devon. I’ve wanted you forever.”
With that acceptance, I thrust up, leaning my head on her shoulder, moaning. She is so wet and so tight. I could cum right now, but I want to last. I want to make this good for her.
Think of something foul. Elijah’s green beans. Mack’s weird, little fuzzy doll he keeps. I pull halfway out and thrust back in.
“You feel so good,” she murmurs, stealing the words right out of my mouth. “Keep doing that.”
I moan and do it again and again. I suck on her shoulder, bite it gently, and then turn, searching for her mouth.
Her fingernails bite into my shoulders, but it only makes everything feel even better. I thrust and thrust, getting lost, grinding into her; nothing exists but us. Her breasts are full against my chest, and I make a note to explore them later.
“Knot me, Alpha.”
WHAT?
My brain scrambles for purchase, but there’s nothing to grab onto, and my cock is responding to her demand. I grip her hips and hold her to the wall as I drill up into her.
“Are you sure?” I grunt out.
“Stop asking that,” she groans. “I’m an omega, of course, I want a knot. I just want you now, here in this moment.”
“It’s a big-”
“Devon, stop overthinking this-”
“Are you sure-”
Her legs wrap around me, and she pulls herself down onto my cock. My knot hits the edge of her pussy but won’t quite go in.
I let out a deep growl and thrust up.
Fireworks.
Lightning.
A storm so strong it recreates the coastline of my soul.
I rock against her, panting as her pussy milks my knot, squeezing and clutching at it in the sweetest vice. My cum sprays out of me, in spurt after spurt, and doesn’t seem to stop. Every time I get close, her pussy constricts around my knot and squeezes me into another orgasm.
She throws her head back, screaming. Her screams are mine. This moment is mine.
I kiss her throat, trying to hang on as another orgasm ruins me. My legs shake, I’m growling, snarling, rocking, trying to get deeper.
I don’t know how long it takes before my brain comes back online, but we’ve made it to the couch, and she’s collapsed on my chest.
A deep purr rumbles out of my chest as I stroke her hair.
“Thank you.”
For trusting me, for gifting me with that, for coming home and not making me wait forever.
“Devon.”
She says my name, and it’s everything.
I love her, and I think I always have.
She’s asleep when her scent changes again, and she enters a full-blown heat, but I keep purring and stroking.
She nuzzles my throat and stays asleep. An omega who feels safe is one who will sleep, I remember Lorelei Sol telling me one year.
If she trusts you, she can love you.
I can get her to love me again; I know I can.